Arab Kingdom of Nabataea
Aretas IV - King: 9 B.C. - 40 A.D.
Bronze 15mm (2.20 grams) Petra mint, Struck 5/4 B.C.
Reference: Meshorer, Nabataea 64
Laureate head of Aretas IV right; in field, ח o.
Two cornucopiae crossed; between them,  פצ .

The north-Arabian kingdom of the Nabataeans, with their capital at Petra, continued in existence until the early years of the 2nd Century A.D., when emperor Trajan created the Roman province of Arabia.

Originally named Aeneas, he seized the throne on the death of Obodas III and thereafter styled himself Aretas Philopatris. His daughter married Herod Antipas, whose territory he later invaded without Roman permission, 37 A.D. However, he managed to obtain the favor of Caligula who granted him control of Damascus.

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The cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form. Originating in classical antiquity , it has continued as a symbol in Western art , and it is particularly associated with the Thanksgiving holiday in North America .

In Mythology

Mythology offers multiple explanations of the origin of the cornucopia. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father Cronus . In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete , baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goat Amalthea ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of her horns , which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.

In another myth, the cornucopia was created when Heracles (Roman Hercules ) wrestled with the river god Achelous and wrenched off one of his horns; river gods were sometimes depicted as horned. This version is represented in the Achelous and Hercules mural painting by the American Regionalist artist Thomas Hart Benton .

The cornucopia became the attribute of several Greek and Roman deities , particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth (Gaia or Terra ); the child Plutus , god of riches and son of the grain goddess Demeter ; the nymph Maia ; and Fortuna , the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity. In Roman Imperial cult , abstract Roman deities who fostered peace (pax Romana) and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia, including Abundantia , "Abundance" personified, and Annona , goddess of the grain supply to the city of Rome . Pluto , the classical ruler of the underworld in the mystery religions , was a giver of agricultural, mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia to distinguish him from the gloomier Hades , who holds a drinking horn instead.

Modern depictions

In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive fruit and vegetables . In North America, the cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest. Cornucopia is also the name of the annual November Wine and Food celebration in Whistler , British Columbia, Canada. Two cornucopias are seen in the flag and state seal of Idaho . The Great Seal of North Carolina depicts Liberty standing and Plenty holding a cornucopia. The coat of arms of Colombia , Panama , Peru and Venezuela , and the Coat of Arms of the State of Victoria, Australia , also feature the cornucopia, symbolising prosperity.

The horn of plenty is used on body art and at Halloween, as it is a symbol of fertility, fortune and abundance.

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  Base of a statue of
  Louis XV of France

Aretas IV Philopatris was the King of the Nabataeans from roughly 9 BC to AD 40.

His full title, as given in the inscriptions, was "Aretas, King of the Nabataeans, Friend of his People." Being the most powerful neighbour of Judea , he frequently took part in the state affairs of that country, and was influential in shaping the destiny of its rulers. While on not particularly good terms with Rome - as intimated by his surname, "Friend of his People", which is in direct opposition to the prevalent φιλορώμαις ("Friend of the Romans") and φιλόκαισαρ ("Friend of the Emperor") - and though it was only after great hesitation that Augustus recognized him as king, nevertheless he took part in the expedition of Varus against the Jews in the year 4 BC, and placed a considerable army at the disposal of the Roman general.

His daughter Phasaelis married Herod Antipas (4 BC – AD 39), otherwise known as Herod the Tetrarch. When Herod divorced Phasaelis to take his brother's wife Herodias , mother of Salome , in 36, Phasaelis fled to her father. Relations between Herod and Aretas IV were already strained over border disputes, and with his family honour shamed, Aretas IV invaded Herod's holdings, defeating his army and capturing territories along the West Bank of the Jordan River , including the areas around Qumran .

The classical author Josephus connects this battle, which occurred during the winter of AD 36/37, with the beheading of John the Baptist , which occurred about the same time.

Herod Antipas then appealed to Emperor Tiberius , who dispatched the governor of Syria to attack Aretas. But because of the emperor's death in AD 37 this action was never carried out.

The Christian Apostle, Paul , mentions that he had to sneak out of Damascus in a basket through a window in the wall to escape King Aretas. (2 Corinthians 11:32, 33, cf Acts 9:23, 24).
 

Al Khazneh or The Treasury at Petra

Petra (Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek : Πέτρα) is a historical and archaeological city in the southern Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.

Established possibly as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans , it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Jebel al-Madhbah (identified by some as the biblical Mount Hor ^[4]) in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba . Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt . It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate Prize -winning poem by John William Burgon . UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". See: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists . Petra was chosen by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of the "28 Places to See Before You Die".

The Nabataean kingdom, also named Nabatea(Arabic:نبطية) (many times spelled Nabatean), was an Arabic political state of the Nabataeans which existed during classical antiquity and was annexed by the Roman Empire in CE 106.

Geography

Located between the Sinai Peninsula and the Arabian Peninsula , its northern neighbour was the kingdom of Judea , and its south western neighbour was Ptolemaic Egypt . Its capital was the city of Petra in Jordan , and it included the towns of Bostra , Mada'in Saleh , and Nitzana .

Petra was a wealthy trading town, located at a convergence of several important trade routes . One of them was the Incense Route which was based around the production of both myrrh and frankincense in southern Arabia, and ran through Mada'in Saleh to Petra. From here the aromatics were distributed throughout the Mediterranean region.

History

Nabataean origins date from a time when they were nomadic pastoralists in the Negev and the Sinai Peninsula during Achaemenid Persian rule, around the 4th century BCE.

Nabateans and Hasmoneans

The Nabataeans were allies of the first Hasmoneans in their struggles against the Seleucid monarchs. They then became rivals of the Judaean dynasty, and a chief element in the disorders which invited Pompey 's intervention in Judea . Many Nabataeans were forcefully converted to Judaism by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus . It was this King who, after putting down a local rebellion, invaded and occupied the Nabataean towns of Moab and Gilead and imposed a tribute of an unspecified amount. Obodas I knew that Alexander would attack, so was able to ambush Alexander's forces near Gaulane (Golan) destroying the Judean army in 90 BCE. Under the reign of Aretas III (87 to 62 BCE) the kingdom seems to have reached its territorial zenith, but was defeated by a Roman army under the command of Marcus Aemilius Scaurus . Scaurus' army even besieged Petra, but eventually a compromise was negotiated. Paying a tribute, Aretas III received the formal recognition by the Roman Republic .

The Nabatean kingdom saw itself slowly surrounded by the expanding Roman Empire , which conquered Egypt and annexed Hasmonean Judea. While the Nabatean kingdom managed to preserve its formal independence, it became a client kingdom under the influence of Rome.

Roman annexation

 

In 106 CE, during the reign of Roman emperor Trajan , the last king of the Nabatean kingdom Rabbel II Soter died. This event might have prompted the official annexation of Nabatea to the Roman Empire, although the formal reasons, and the exact manner of annexation, are unknown.

Some epigraphic evidence suggests a military campaign, commanded by Cornelius Palma , the governor of Syria . Roman forces seem to have come from Syria and also from Egypt . It is clear that by 107 CE Roman legions were stationed in the area around Petra and Bostra, as is shown by a papyrus found in Egypt. The kingdom was annexed by the empire, becoming the province of Arabia Petraea . Trade seems to have largely continued thanks to the Nabataens' undiminished talent for trading.

Under Hadrian , the limes Arabicus ignored most of the Nabatæan territory and ran northeast from Aila (modern Aqaba ) at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba . A century later, during the reign of Alexander Severus , the local issue of coinage came to an end. There is no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to a sudden change in political ways, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid Empire .

The city of Palmyra , for a time the capital of the breakaway Palmyrene Empire (fl. 130–270), grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra.